Human & Animal Rights Policy

Human Subjects Research

All research involving human participants must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and applicable national and institutional regulations. Authors must state in the Methods section:

• The name of the ethics committee or institutional review board (IRB) that approved the study
• The approval/reference number and date of approval
• That all participants provided informed consent (written or verbal as appropriate)

Research involving identifiable patient data, photographs, or genetic information requires explicit patient consent to publish.

Animal Research

All research involving animals must comply with the ARRIVE guidelines and applicable national and institutional animal welfare regulations. Authors must state:

• The name of the institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) that approved the study
• The protocol approval number
• That the study complied with all applicable animal welfare standards

Absence of Approval

Manuscripts that describe research conducted without the required ethical approvals will be rejected. This applies regardless of the country in which the research was conducted.

Patient Privacy

Patient identities must be protected in all case reports and clinical studies. Photographs and other identifying information may only be published with explicit written consent from the patient or their legal representative.